Best Served Cold
by Denizen of Dreamland
Summary: Akira only wanted to spend some time alone with Minato, walking side by side, admiring the Christmas decorations, and stopping for a snack every once in a while. But the weather had other plans for him. Or: Nobody gets away with making fun of Akira, especially when it's cold, he feels sick, and Minato is around to do something about it. Narukami learns that the hard way. (Pegokita)


_(06/12/2019)_

Akira wanted to enjoy himself, of course he did. He wanted to smile, to laugh, to admire the beauty of the majestic winter landscape, the Christmas lights, and the soft rays of sun filtered through the branches of the cherry trees… to bask in the feeling of the wind blowing against his face, the softness of the snow under his boots, and the company of the cute boy walking by his side... and, most of all, he wanted to delight in the feeling of love that this season naturally brought. He didn't want to be a downer. He was trying very hard to enjoy everything around him, really.

But he couldn't. It was just… _So. Fucking. Cold._

"S...S-Senpai…" Akira's teeth were chattering so hard that his voice came out in a shameful quiver. God, did he hate sounding so weak. "I-It's… cold…"

Minato was looking at a store, focusing on a small Christmas tree on display. "If you want to go back, just tell me."

With his arms wrapped around himself, Akira walked in short steps, trying his best to control his shivering. He couldn't feel his face, his fingers were stiff, his breathing was heavy, and his whole body was freezing, even though he was covered in at least five layers of clothing, complete with a thick scarf, gloves, and tall winter boots. With so many things piled up on top of him, Akira would've felt uncomfortable any other day, but in the middle of the unforgiving weather, his coat was a blessing. It was kinda heavy, but the puffiness made up for it. He liked to imagine it was a pillow, in fact.

Akira didn't even need to consider Minato's offer. He was still freezing to death, but he could stand it for a bit longer. Dammit, he was Akira Kurusu, the leader of the Phantom Thieves, for crying out loud, and 'giving up' wasn't in his vocabulary. A little cold wasn't gonna stop him. Of course not. He couldn't afford to look vulnerable, not because of something as pathetic as a little bit of snow.

Plus, he didn't want to disappoint Minato.

Akira rubbed his hands against his arms, trying to warm himself up. _Goddammit, just suck it up,_ he thought. He would tolerate this for just a little while longer.

"N… N-No, it's okay." He sniffed. "It's nothing I can't handle."

Minato had stopped walking and was now staring at a bunch of Christmas cakes on sale. If he was even half as cold as Akira, he wasn't showing it. His hands were in his pockets, like always, he only had a light jacket on him, and he was perfectly composed, as if this was routine for him, or as if he was on his way to school on a normal day of spring. With a neutral expression but with a cute happy glint in his eyes, he evaluated the cakes from afar. He then turned around.

He looked straight into Akira's eyes. "I knew you shouldn't have equipped Arsene."

"I-I'm sorry, I… executed all of m-my other Personas for items…" His voice was so hoarse that even himself would've had a hard time trying to recognize it. "B-But I'm fine. Promise."

"Hm. If you say so."

Minato continued walking and Akira followed numbly. He didn't know where they were going, but, when it came down to it, he didn't care either. He was too busy thinking about the cold, torn between wanting to spend time with Minato and wanting to get this over with so he could go back home, cuddle up in bed by himself, and watch a Christmas movie while he ate a scorching hot serving of curry. His first instinct was that he wanted to go back. But, deep down, he wanted to make Minato happy more than anything, so nothing was going to stop him from enjoying this outing as much as he could.

Akira probably walked a lot less than he thought he had when Minato paused again, turned around to face him, and pointed at a bench right in front of him. "Sit." He then added, "Don't worry, I won't take long."

Akira tried to nod, though he wasn't sure if his neck moved at all, and he plopped down on the bench. His head hanging low, he saw as Minato's feet trudged away and made their way through the heavy snow.

Thankfully, the bench wasn't cold, which was probably because someone had been there not long ago. Sitting there, alone with his thoughts, and holding his knees against his chest, Akira had some time to get himself together. He waited quietly, looking at his breath and how its cloud of mist seemed to get smaller every time he breathed out, while he listened to the excited cries of a group of kids playing on a nearby park. It was so peaceful… Honestly, he was getting comfortable on the bench. So much that he almost gave in to the temptation of closing his eyes and going to sleep right there and then. _Great_, fighting back against the cold was making him feel exhausted already. And it wasn't even three p.m. yet.

As soon as he had stepped out into the cold, Akira had pulled his hat down to his eyebrows and his scarf up to his nose, in a attempt to keep his face warm. The problem was that he could barely see, and the darkness that surrounded his eyesight might be making him even sleepier. Maybe it would do him some good to free his own face and distract himself with the view.

Akira pulled his hat up and his scarf down, regretting it immediately. The cold hit him harder than he thought it would and he almost retreated back to his cozy little cave, but, again, he decided not to give up. He breathed in shakily, feeling the frozen air enter his lungs, and he sighed. Shit, this was awful. He absolutely hated the weather.

Not only was he cold, but now he was alone too. Why was Minato taking so long? He wanted someone to accompany him, to comfort him, to at least make him think about something else rather than his sorry ass.

"Kurusu!" Someone called out to him.

Akira looked up only to see a tall boy with grey hair in a bowl cut and… _Fuck._ Yu Narukami. The only thing worse than being alone. Akira huffed and buried half of his face in between his knees.

"It's nice to see you here. It's been a while since we last saw each other. You know, I almost didn't recognize you." Narukami said. "... Are you okay? You don't look too good."

_Stating the obvious, huh,_ Akira thought, _Some things never change._ He almost rolled his eyes, but instead he just stayed quiet, hoping that Narukami would get the hint. He knew it was hopeless, though. There was no escaping this conversation, not even if he were to resort to Hifumi's best tactics.

"You seem tired. And you, um..." Narukami tapped his own nose a couple of times. "You kinda look like…"

"Y-Yeah, I know." Akira sniffed loudly. "That's because I'm sick."

_Ugh. I _**always** _have to spell everything out for him..._

"Oh, I see." Narukami smiled. "Well, I'm sure you'll get better in no time. When I get sick, I always go out for a walk to get some fresh air and get everything off my mind. It always works, so it's great to see you doing the same thing. The weather is pretty nice out here today, so..."

… _Is he being serious right now or am I just being mocked like the fool I am?_

"... yeah, it's very refreshing. Though, when I saw the weather forecast this morning, I thought it was going to be a lot colder." Narukami looked around him and chuckled. "I already had plans with my friends, so all I could do was get prepared to suffer, but, when I actually went out, it wasn't bad at all. For a snowy day, it wasn't _that_ cold. Only Nanako thought it was cold and, of course, she's only six, so I can understand…"

_Oh, god. Go away._

"... it's just a little bit of wind, that's all. The forecast was exaggerating. Today's a perfect day to go out and enjoy yourself with friends and take a break from being indoors all day. Well, I guess it could be somewhat cold if you were very sensitive to the cold, but, in that case, you could simply wear a coat and you'd be ready to go, because it's not too hard to feel warm if you just…"

Right when Akira's mind was starting to block out Narukami's voice, he spotted Minato, walking towards them with two cups of hot chocolate in his hands. The blue-haired boy stopped just a few meters behind Narukami, who hadn't noticed him in the middle of his rant.

_Minato-senpai! My Messiah!,_ Akira shot him a desperate glance. _Please save me!_

"... but I might've overdressed thanks to the forecast…" Narukami tugged at the neck of his jacket as if he was choking. "I'm starting to feel stuffed. Really hot, actually. I should take this off." He unbuttoned it, slid it off his shoulders, and stretched a bit. "Ha… That's much better. Why don't you take your coat off too? Just looking at you is making me feel sweaty. Don't you feel stuffed?"

At that moment, just for the tiniest fraction of a second, Akira saw Narukami's gentle smile turn into a devilish smirk, but it went by so quickly that he would've definitely missed it if he hadn't blinked exactly when he did. Akira frowned. _This dumbass knows _**exactly** _what he's doing! He's taking advantage of my weakness!_

"I'm fine." Akira said through clenched teeth. "Thanks for your concern."

"I don't know how can you be dressed like that in this weather." Narukami shook his head. "Um, don't look at me like that. Come on. I'm just worried about your health, that's all. Well, you do you, I guess. As long as you're not wearing that because you feel cold. I mean, you'd have to be extremely weak to feel anything more than a breeze in a weather like this. If anyone said that they are freezing today, I'd be worried about that person's immune system. When I think about it, there is only one way to make me feel cold in this temperature…"

Narukami kept on rambling while Akira kept shivering and wondering what did he do to deserve this. Meanwhile, Minato took a sip of one of the cups of hot chocolate and gulped the entire thing down. He then turned around and left. Akira watched in horror.

_No, wait! Don't leave! You can't leave me here with… with… _**him!** _No, no, no! Senpai, come back!_

"... but nobody would equip a Persona that's weak to ice during winter. That would be an awful idea. You'd have to be some sort of sick masochist for that. Unless you're not a Wildcard, of course, but that's a completely different discussion because you'd have no choice. If I were a normal Persona-user with a Persona that's weak to ice, I'd try to bond with my local Wildcard and build a resistance to the cold, so at least I'd be stronger than a Wildcard who for some reason decided to equip a terrible Persona against their better judgement…"

Akira held back a groan as he stared at Narukami emptily. If that guy kept talking his ear off, he'd go crazy. God, he'd rather die and be chained to a door for the rest of eternity rather than be here, having to endure all of Narukami's unfiltered thoughts. Seriously, the universe hated him or something. He would've left, but he was too comfortable in the bench and his body was too cold to even stand up in the first place. But, damn, did he wish he could be literally anywhere else right now. Narukami was making him feel so sick that, at some point, he was afraid that he was going to throw up without a warning.

Not to mention the embarrassment that came from being publicly humiliated like this. Damn, he was sure this would keep nagging at him for entire months. And as if that wasn't bad enough on its own, Narukami definitely wouldn't let it go either. _I mean, he finally got a chance to best me at _**something**, Akira reasoned. _He's never gonna forget it._

Akira had long lost track of time again when he (thank goodness!) saw Minato come back, with his perpetually neutral expression intact. He was holding only one cup of hot chocolate, but, now, he also had a plastic cup filled to the brim with pure ice in the other hand. Akira smiled. He and Minato shared a knowing look.

As Narukami talked and talked and talked without a care in the world, Minato looked at him from behind. Giving Akira a nod of reassurance, he quietly walked towards Narukami, got on the tips on his toes, and carefully grabbed the neck of his shirt.

"... so, of course, Margaret asked me if I was sure about it, but I still decided to go through with it, even when Igor warned me that… t-that… … … t-t-t-t… ..."

Midway through his monologue, his jaw dropped and his eyes emptily stared at nothing. His face grew pale until it was as white as a sheet, his back slowly arched like a penguin's during mating season, and he puffed his cheeks while he bit his lip to repress a shameful screech. "_Nnnghfffffffffffffffffffffffff—!"_

Minato finished pouring the ice inside Narukami's shirt and stepped back, with a playful smile creeping into his face. "Cold enough for you yet?"

"_Ffffffffffff-f-f-f-fuck… fuck..._" Narukami choked out, quivering and curling up, as he winced and whimpered like a baby. "I, ngh… mhm… _gaah!"_

_Ha! Who's laughing now?_ Akira thought, smirking. Seeing their roles reversed made him feel that surviving Narukami's lecture had been completely worth it. As he watched Narukami squirm like a fish, he suddenly didn't feel as cold and sick anymore. He didn't have it as bad, after all. At least he hadn't been humiliated as badly.

And, damn, was he proud of Minato. He was a bit ashamed about ever doubting that he'd come back to help Akira, but, moreover, he was glad to know that he had someone as loyal and genuine as Minato by his side.

Narukami's survival instincts finally kicked in and he quickly unbuttoned his shirt, before tearing it off. It fell to the ground, fated to get lost in the snow, but he didn't mind at all, as he was trying to shake the pieces of ice and the cold water off his back. "Nndfhghm… S-s-somehow that just made it _worse!"_ He shrieked in desperation, looking up at Akira as if begging for mercy.

Because of the cold, Akira couldn't have moved from his seat even if he had wanted to. Not like he cared, because he'd much rather just watch. "Oh, come on, I bet it's not that cold. It's just a bit of ice."

Akira felt a murderous intent when Narukami glared daggers at him. "G-g-go to hell." He shivered. It was hard to make out what he was saying because now _his_ teeth were chattering. Needless to say, Akira didn't feel as bad about himself as before.

He didn't notice Minato had left for a third time until he arrived with a towel that he had gotten Philemon-knows-where. "Don't die, Narukami." He said. "I can't afford to go to jail for murder."

Akira leaned back on the bench and shook his head. "And the murder of a cop's nephew, no less."

Minato tossed the towel over Narukami, who wrapped it around his shoulders and clutched onto it for dear life. He didn't stop shivering yet, but at least he wasn't whining anymore. "T-t-t-thanks." He stuttered, enjoying the warmth of his towel. He then looked at Minato with a pained expression on his face. "H-Hey, why am I thanking you? I hate you. I hate you _so much."_

Minato shrugged. "You say that like I care."

Akira sticked his tongue out as if to say '_See? He cares more about me than about you!'_. He had won the race against Narukami to win Minato's heart a long time ago, but he would never miss a chance to remind him of his crushing defeat.

Narukami stepped back, indignant, and knitted his brows. "Fine. I know when I'm not wanted. But it's your loss. I'm going back to my _real_ friends." He turned around and started walking away.

Minato sat down besides Akira and they both watched as Narukami left, fuming and mumbling under his breath. Once they were sure he was out of earshot, Akira looked at Minato, satisfied, trying to figure out what to say to thank him. There were simply no words to describe how much he liked him, how happy he was about spending time with him, and how much he enjoyed it when Minato was just… being himself. Akira opened his mouth to speak, choosing not to overthink it, but then-

"_My _**real** _friends!" _Narukami shouted at them, from afar. "People who actually appreciate my company!"

"Ugh." Minato rolled his eyes. Once they saw Narukami turn around and continue walking, Minato looked at Akira. "So, were you trying to say something?"

"Well, yeah, I…" He didn't know where to start. A simple 'thanks' would do, but, somehow, that didn't seem appropriate. Shit, Akira had never been too good at expressing his emotions openly like this. Good thing Minato understood and accepted that part of Akira's personality. The blue-haired boy didn't say anything. Thankfully, he just gave Akira a bit to space to think about what he was going to say and get himself together. "I just wanted to say-"

"People who **love** _me for who I am!" _Narukami shouted again, now a few more meters away from them. "People who don't just treat me like some kind of third wheel!"

Minato frowned. "Is he gonna leave or what?" He sighed. "Just ignore him, Akira. Go on."

Just in case, Akira looked up and saw Narukami walking again. When he was out of sight, he decided that it was safe to continue speaking. "Yeah. Well, I was just thinking-"

"_It's not like I _**wanted** to hang out with a couple _of jerks _like you anyways!"

Enraged, Akira jumped out of the bench and cupped his hands around his mouth. "FOR FUCK'S SAKE, NARUKAMI! YOU COCKBLOCK ME _ONE MORE TIME_ AND I'LL MAKE SURE YOU _NEVER_ HOOK UP AGAIN IN YOUR _ENTIRE LIFE!"_

But all of Akira's anger faded away when he heard the cutest laugh ever coming from behind him. Suddenly, everything he could hear was the sound of his heart tugging at his chest. He turned around to witness Minato's beautiful smile, as he glanced at Akira from under his bangs, and he felt a knot on his throat that made him gasp for air. He told himself the cold might've been messing with his brain, but, at the time, Minato's chuckle seemed like the prettiest thing he had ever had the pleasure to experience.

Akira must've been paralyzed for at least a whole minute, because he saw his own breath about ten times before Minato gave him a worried look and broke the silence. "Let's go home. You need to rest."

And, just like that, everything was back to how it had been in the beginning. Just Akira and Minato, walking side by side on the street, looking at the Christmas decorations, window-shopping, and heading home with plans to watch a movie and eat curry, popcorn, and candy. Akira was drinking the cup of chocolate that Minato had bought for him, which, miraculously, was still hot, and it was making him feel a lot better. Once it was done, though, and Akira had thrown the plastic cup away, he started missing the warmth that his hand had already gotten used to. Then, he looked at Minato and got an idea.

He took off his right glove, put it inside his pocket, and reached out to Minato's left hand. He squeezed it gently and instantly felt his icy hand melt. Oh, god_,_ it was _so_ pleasant… He loved the feeling of his skin against Minato's. His hand was so small and delicate, but it was soft and warm, so much that Akira decided to never let go. Minato didn't seem bothered and, in fact, he started caressing Akira's fingers to relieve them a bit from the cold.

There were so many things that could've been said at that time, but both of them remained quiet. Still, Akira wouldn't have traded this moment for all the riches in the history of humankind. He enjoyed Minato's silence, because it wasn't uncomfortable or awkward, it was more like a break in the middle of the chaotic, noisy world that they lived in everyday. It was a time for him to listen to his own thoughts, to enjoy Minato's quiet presence, and to notice the little things around him that he often overlooked because of how busy he was all the time.

As the leader of the Phantom Thieves and as someone that so many people relied upon, Akira constantly lived with the pressure of having to say the right thing at the right moment, of having to make sure that his words and actions pleased everyone, of having to second-guess himself when he was going to make an important decision. Of course, he couldn't let his insecurities show, but his responsibilities still weighed him down. He always felt the need to be exactly the guy who everyone else wanted him to be.

However, Minato didn't want him to be anything. He didn't expect anything out of him, he just enjoyed his company unconditionally. The silence between them was relaxing because Minato never wanted him to say anything more than what was absolutely necessary and vice versa. Just knowing that they were there for each other was more than enough. And so, Akira could just be himself, with all of his flaws, his weaknesses, and his vulnerabilities, knowing that Minato accepted him just the way he was. He didn't care if Akira messed up. He didn't care if sometimes Akira turned him down because he wasn't feeling up for a walk, or if he called him for help on a particularly rough day, all because he perfectly understood what he was going through.

Before Akira knew it, he was clinging to Minato's arm. It was just too warm and cozy and homely not to. It was hard to walk like this, with Akira towering over Minato and leaning on his shoulder, but they were managing to, because it was worth it. They both appreciated each other's touch.

"How're you feeling?" Minato said.

"Better. Thanks to you." Akira could only dream of expressing how thankful he really felt for everything that Minato had done for him throughout the years. He just couldn't put it into words. Nothing would ever be enough to make Minato understand how much he truly meant to him. But what came out of Akira's mouth next came pretty close. He hadn't meant to say it, but once he did, it sounded effortless and natural, like it was all coming together. "I love you, Minato-senpai."

"Huh? Oh. Um." Minato mumbled, not knowing what to say. His face became a crazy mix of emotions, that started with a neutral expression, which turned into a frown, then confusion, then joy, and, finally, embarrassment. He looked away, conflicted, but Akira could swear he saw a light blush on his cheeks. Akira's smile grew wider. He'd definitely caught Minato off-guard.

"And. Um. I..." Minato whispered, not daring to look at Akira. "And I love snow."

Akira chuckled, running a hard through Minato's hair and placing a light kiss on his forehead. "Yeah, me too. It's so cold, but… so sweet at the same time."

* * *

A/N: Not gonna lie, this is a rant against people who tell me to take off my sweater when _they_ feel hot.

Anyways, this fanfic is for the Persona 3 Winter Festival by nemirutami on Tumblr! This is kinda late because this is the fourth prompt, so I was planning on posting it on Dec 4th, but I ended up writing way more than I should. I currently don't have a Tumblr, though, so hopefully nemirutami will eventually see this. Somehow.

_Minty-senpai please notice me I want to learn the ways of being a true Minato fan and a professional Souji bully please I love your art and your comics I binged all of your Persona content only like a month ago-_

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!


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